wish fulfillment
Americannoun
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gratification of desires.
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Psychoanalysis. the drive to free oneself from tension caused by instinctual needs, as sex.
Etymology
Origin of wish fulfillment
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What would summer on the beach be without chocolate and marshmallows between graham crackers—or without angst and wish fulfillment between book covers?
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
The night is one of wish fulfillment for music fans, offering the promise of behind-the-stage action as well as an idealized vision of funk’s communal power.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026
Mr. Kimmel also hints at the wish fulfillment at the heart of the Jewish-penned superhero tales: As he observes, within their pages, “nerdy outsiders end up exhibiting enviable superpowers.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Seeing an evil man get exactly what he deserves may provide some fleeting wish fulfillment, but that inevitable scene where Iris takes back her power doesn’t make “Companion” an inherently feminist text.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2025
It is true that common usage recognizes "bad" dreams, but still the dream plainly connotates to it only the beautiful wish fulfillment.
From A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Freud, Sigmund
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
